A Gamer's Guide to Black Friday

Hello again!  Well, it's that time of year again.  Time for waiting in long lines and being elbowed by soccer moms for a $5 DVD player.  Yes, it is almost time for Black Friday!  Why has it got to be "Black" friday!?!? you may ask...well, it has something to do with stores finally making money for the year (which is really kind of sad when you think about it), but we aren't hear to talk about that.  I wanted to post something useful for the gamer or the person shopping for a gamer on Black Friday so that you can get the most for your money when it comes to the big holiday games.  So sit back, take some notes, and get ready to punch a granny for a cheap copy of MW3.

Retail/Brick and Mortar Stores:  When it comes to getting up at the ass crack of dawn or, in most cases these days, far too far before the ass crack of dawn, you have to be ready.  If you want to be one of the first in line to get a great deal that will sell out fast, you have to get there early.  There are people who will camp out for hours to get a $200 TV, so if you want to go nuts and be that person, go for it.  But chances are for most stores, if you get there an hour early, you should get a pretty good place in line and will have a good chance of getting what you came for.  Just remember, there are a lot of crazy people out there, so you never know.  Oh and dress warm...standing in line for an hour at four in the morning in November is no fun under the best of circumstances.  When if comes to which store to hit, it all comes down to planning ahead.  Figure out where most of your deals are and go there first.  Have a list of what all you need and have a good idea of what order you will need to go through the store to get them.  Lots of stores will actually post online a floor layout with where you can find their big door buster deals, so do some research before just jumping in the car.  Also, things will sell out, but often different stores will have similar deals, so have a back up list of items you can look for at other stores if you can't find them at the absolute cheapest at your first choice store.  As far as my list of gamer deals that follows, they are the most interesting deals that I have found.  All these places will have sports games on sale (which I don't really care about) and they will all have Squinkies games on sale (which I also don't care about and if you don't know what a Squinky is, then you can count yourself as lucky), but they are not on this list.  These are things that interest me, so your mileage may vary.  Additionally, they are based on leaked ads, so not all the deals may happen at the store you go to, so check out the actual print ads first.  As a side note, I didn't post anything from Gamestop because they are evil and you should not shop there and anything that is a door buster item (i.e. only available for a limited time during the day) are marked with an asterisk.

Best Buy will be opening at Midnight on Black Friday...yeah...you read that right...Midnight

Nintendo DS
Nintendo 3DS Bundle w/Super Mario 3D Land Game (Flame Red) - $179.99
Nintendo 3DS Bundle w/Zelda Game (Cosmo Black) - $179.99
Scribblenauts (Nintendo DS) - $7.99

Playstation 3
Assassins Creed Revelations (PS3) - $34.99
Batman: Arkham City (PS3) - $29.99 *
Battlefield 3 (PS3) - $29.99 *
Call Of Duty Black Ops (PS3) - $29.99
Call Of Duty World At War (PS3) - $7.99
Deus Ex Human Revolution (PS3) - $29.99
Dirt 3 (PS3) - $14.99
Disney Universe (PS3) - $29.99
Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) - $14.99
Homefront (PS3) - $14.99
Need For Speed: The Run (PS3) - $29.99 *
Rage (PS3) - $29.99 *
Sony Playstation 3 160GB Console Bundle - $199.99 *
Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions (PS3) - $14.99
Toy Story 3 (PS3) - $7.99
Uncharted 3 (PS3) - $29.99 *
X-Men Destiny (PS3) - $29.99

Xbox 360
Assassins Creed Revelations (Xbox 360) - $34.99
Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360) - $29.99 *
Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360) - $29.99 *
Call Of Duty Black Ops (Xbox 360) - $29.99
Call Of Duty World At War (Xbox 360) - $7.99
Dance Central 2 (Xbox 360) - $24.99
Deus Ex Human Revolution (Xbox 360) - $29.99
Dirt 3 (Xbox 360) - $14.99
Disney Universe (Xbox 360) - $29.99
Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox 360) - $14.99
Forza Motorsport 4 (Xbox 360) - $34.99
Gears Of War 3 (Xbox 360) - $29.99
Gears Of War Triple Pack (Xbox 360) - $7.99
Homefront (Xbox 360) - $14.99
Just Dance 3 (Xbox 360) - $24.99
Kinect Sports Season 2 (Xbox 360) - $24.99
Need For Speed: The Run (Xbox 360) - $29.99 *
Rage (Xbox 360) - $29.99 *
Raving Rabbids Alive And Kicking (Xbox 360) - $24.99
Sesame Street Once Upon A Monster (Xbox 360) - $24.99
Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions (Xbox 360) - $14.99
Toy Story 3 (Xbox 360) - $7.99
Xbox 360 250GB Console Bundle - $199.99
Xbox 360 Kinect Sensor - $99.99
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller - $39.99
Xbox Live 3-Mont Gold Membership (Xbox 360) - $7.99
X-Men Destiny (Xbox 360) - $29.99

Wal-Mart will be opening at 10 pm on Thankgiving...seriously people!

Nintendo Wii
Epic Mickey (Wii) - $15.00
Lego Batman (Wii) - $15.00
Lego Harry Potter (Wii) - $15.00
Nintendo Selects Wii Games - $19.96
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - $19.96
Super Paper Mario (Wii) - $19.96
The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword Limited Edition w/CD And Gold Remote Plus (Wii) - $59.96
Wii Limited Edition Blue Console - $99.96
Wii Remote Plus - $39.96

Playstation 3
Batman Arkham City (PS3) - $28.00
Battlefield 3 (PS3) - $28.00
Call Of Duty 4 Modern Warfare (Ps3) - $15.00
Call Of Duty Black Ops Limited Edition w/Bonus Content (PS3) - $28.00
God Of War (PS3) - $15.00
Heavy Rain (PS3) - $15.00
Infamous 2 (PS3) - $28.00
Kane And Lynch 2 (PS3) - $10.00
Little Big Planet (PS3) - $15.00
PlayStation 3 160GB Console w/Bonus - $199.96
PlayStation 3 Translucent Blue Controller - $54.96
Pure (PS3) - $10.00
Uncharted 2 Among Theives (PS3) - $15.00
Yakusa 4 (PS3) - $10.00

 Xbox 360
007 Quantum Of Solace (Xbox 360) - $10.00
Batman Arkham City (Xbox 360) - $28.00
Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360) - $28.00
Bioshock 2 (Xbox 360) - $10.00
Call Of Duty 4 Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) - $15.00
Call Of Duty Black Ops (Xbox 360) - $28.00
Dance Central 2 (Xbox 360) - $15.00
Forza Motorsport 4 (Xbox 360) - $28.00
Gears Of War 3 (Xbox 360) - $28.00
Kinect Sports Season 2 (Xbox 360) - $15.00
Xbox 360 4GB Console Bundle - $199.00 *
Xbox 360 4GB Console w/Kinect - $199.96
Xbox 360 Kinect Bundle - $99.96
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller - $49.96
Xbox Live 3-Month Subscription Card - $12.00

Target will open at the same time as Best Buy...at Midnight on Black Friday

Nintendo DS
Nintendo 3DS Bundle w/Super Mario 3D Land Game - $179.99

Nintendo Wii
Disney Epic Mickey (Wii) - $15.00
Disney Universe (Wii) - $27.00
Nintendo Wii Plus Motion w/Wii Remote And Controller - $39.00 *

Playstation 3
Need For Speed: The Run (PS3) - $37.00
Resistance 3 (PS3) - $37.00
Sony Play Station 3 160GB Bundle w/2 Games, 30-Day Playstation Plus Membership - $199.00 *
Sony PlayStation 3 DualShock 3 Controller - $39.00 *

Xbox 360
Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360) - $37.00
Dance Central 2 (Xbox 360) - $27.00
Forza Motorsport 3 (Xbox 360) - $27.00
Gears Of War 3 (Xbox 360) - $37/00
Kinect Sports: Season 2 (Xbox 360) - $27.00
Xbox 360 4GB Console - $139.99
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller - $39.00 *
Xbox Kinect Sensor w/Wipeout 2 Game - $99.00 *

K-Mart will open at a more traditional 5 am on Black Friday

Nintendo DS
Nintendo 3DS Flame Red Bundle w/$25 Gaming Coupon - $199.99 *

Playstation 3
Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) - $19.99 *
God Of War III (PS3) - $14.99 *
God Of War Origins Collection (PS3) - $29.99 *
Heavy Rain (PS3) - $14.99 *
Killzone 3 (PS3) - $29.99 *
Little Big Planet w/Rag Doll (PS3) - $24.99 *
Playstation 3 160GB 2011 Holiday Bundle - $199.99 *
Playstation 3 Controller - $34.99 *
Playstation 3 Starter Pack (PS3) - $49.99 *
The Ico And Shadow Of The Colossus Collection (PS3) - $29.99 *
Uncharted 2 (PS3) - $14.99 *

Xbox 360
Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360) - $34.99 *
Call Of Duty Black Ops (Xbox 360) - $29.99 *
Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360) - $19.99 *
Dance Central 2 (Xbox 360) - $29.99 *
Driver San Fransisco (Xbox 360) - $19.99 *
Enslaved: Odyssey To The West (Xbox 360) - $9.99 *
Fifa Soccer 12 (Xbox 360) - $39.99 *
Forza Motosport 4 (Xbox 360) - $39.99 *
Gears Of War 3 (Xbox 360) - $39.99 *
Gears Of War Triple Pack (Xbox 360) - $14.99 *
Kinect Sports Season Two (Xbox 360) - $29.99 *
Madden 12 (Xbox 360) - $39.99 *
Medal Of Honor (Xbox 360) - $9.99 *
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (Xbox 360) - $34.99 *
Michael Jackson The Experience (Xbox 360) - $24.99 *
NCAA Football 12 (Xbox 360) - $39.99 *
Need For Speed: The Run (Xbox 360) - $39.99 *
Rage (Xbox 360) - $29.99 *
Transformers Cybertron (Xbox 360) - $14.99 *
Xbox 360 4GB System - $149.99 *
Xbox 360 Controller - $39.99 *
Xbox 360 Kinect Sensor - $99.99 *
Xbox 360 Starter Pack - $49.99 *
Xbox Live 3 Month Gold Membership - $14.99 *

Toys R Us will be opening at 10 on Thanksgiving night like Wal-Mart.

Nintendo DS
Lego Batman (Nintendo DS) - B1G1 Free
Lego Battles Ninjago (Nintendo DS) - B1G1 Free
Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Nintendo DS) - B1G1 Free
Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Nintendo DS) - B1G1 Free
Nintendo 3DS Super Mario Bundle w/Super Mario Bobblehead Stylus - $189.99
Super Scribblenauts (Nintendo DS) - B1G1 Free

Playstation 3
Battlefield 3 (PS3) - B1G1 $5.00
Call Of Duty Black Ops (PS3) - B1G1 $5.00
Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) - B1G1 $5.00
God Of War III (PS3) - B1G1 $5.00
Need For Speed: The Run (PS3) - B1G1 $5.00
Playstation 3 160GB Game System Bundle w/Power A Wired Controller - $199.99
Playstation 3 Wireless Controller - $20.99
Rage (PS3) - B1G1 $5.00
The Little Big Planet (PS3) - B1G1 $5.00
Uncharted 2 (PS3) - B1G1 $5.00

Xbox 360
6-In-1 Expansion Kit For Xbox 360 - 50% Off
Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360) - B1G1 $5.00
Call Of Duty Black Ops (Xbox 360) - B1G1 $5.00
Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360) - B1G1 $5.00
Dance Central 2 Kinect (Xbox 360) - B1G1 $5.00
Dance Central Kinect (Xbox 360) - B1G1 $5.00
Forza IV (Xbox 360) - B1G1 $5.00
Gears Of War 3 (Xbox 360) - B1G1 $5.00
Kinect Sports Season 2 (Xbox 360) - B1G1 $5.00
Kinect Sports (Xbox 360) - B1G1 $5.00
Rage (Xbox 360) - B1G1 $5.00
The Run (Xbox 360) - B1G1 $5.00
Xbox 360 4GB Game System w/Kinect And $10 Toys R Us Gift Card - $199.99
Xbox 360 Afterglow Controller - $17.99
Xbox 360 Kinect Sensor - $99.99
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller - $29.99
Xbox Live 3-Month Gold Membership Card - $12.99

Meijer will be opening on Black Friday at 4 am, like God intended...

Nintendo DS
Entire Stock Of Nintendo Handheld Accessories - 50% Off *
Lego Batman (Nintendo DS) - $9.99 *
Nintendo DSi Video Game System - $149.99
Nintendo DS XL And $30.00 Meijer Coupon - $169.99 *
Starfox 3D (Nintendo DS) - $19.99 *

Nintendo Wii
Nintendo Wii Hardware - $99.99 *

Playstation 3
Battlefield 3 (PS3) - $29.99 *
God Of War 2 (PS3) - $9.99 *
Harry Potter Lego (PS3) - $9.99 *
Infamous 2 (PS3) - $29.99 *
Killzone 3 (PS3) - $19.99 *
Need For Speed The Run (PS3) - $29.99 *
Playstaytion 3 Holiday Bundle - $199.99 *
Rage (PS3) - $29.99 *
Resistance 3 (PS3) - $29.99 *

Xbox 360
Cars 2 (Xbox 360) - $19.99 *
Dance Central 2 (Xbox 360) - $19.99 *
Forza 4 (Xbox 360) - $29.99 *
Gears Of War 3 (Xbox 360) - $29.99 *
Harry Potter Lego (Xbox 360) - $9.99 *
Kinect Sports Season 2 (Xbox 360) - $19.99 *
Medal Of Honor (Xbox 360) - $9.99 *
Need For Speed The Run (Xbox 360) - $29.99 *
Rage (Xbox 360) - $29.99 *
Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2 (Xbox 360) - $9.99 *

Online:  Remember, a lot of places will be having online deals as well as the deals in store.  Some places will even have the same deals available online that they will have in store, so it might be work some research on your part.  Amazon will have some good deals, often matching deals that many brick and mortar stores have, but they often sell out very quickly. 

In the end, if you want to get some great deals on games, there are some that will be there for the taking, but you have to plan and be ready to commit to it on Black Friday.  Good luck out there, kids...